Year of Storytelling - Prediction for 2026

2026 is the year of storytelling.

Startups that want to win need to get it right.

Everyone wants attention

In 2025, storytelling has shifted from a marketing buzzword to a strategic imperative for many B2B brands and enterprises.

Everyone wants to get attention and viral success.

And viral success requires viral story.

Probably the biggest example of such viral explosion in 2025 was Cluely with its founder story and launch videos getting massive attention on X and beyond.

The only way to hit escape velocity is by making big swings, like our launch video (c) Roy Lee, founder of Cluely

Another example is Starcloud, that got tons of investments and support from tech giants, with their insane idea of datacenters in space.

Crazy? Yes. Memorable? Also yes.

Anthropic (Claude) got up to speed closer to the end of 2025.

Claude went from cringe “Move your work up to the Claude” posters to viral IRL popups by doing one thing: telling a better story. Now everyone wants that. (c) Tom Orbach, Marketing Ideas

Thousands of companies and startups are hiring “storytellers” to make their message more clear, loud, bold, and attracting not just attention, but the right attention.

Even venture capital firms like a16z say this as one of their observations and predictions:

In a world overwhelmed by slop, there’s more demand for people who can think clearly, choose the right words, and cut through the noise with an original idea, well expressed. (c) Ryan Rigney, a16z speedrun marketing partner

Why story matters

Good story engages the audience, attracts investors, media and talent, helps differentiate from competitors.

If this sounds like dream - think again:

Top talent wants to work on BIG ideas.

Venture capitalists invest in huge projects with bold vision.

Clear point-of-view and positioning helps get the audience of not just customers but superfans.

Media outlets want to cover new and interesting things.

Because everyone wants to hear about them.

People love stories.

It’s much more than marketing

Storytelling is everywhere:

• Ads
• Videos
• Events
• Memos
• Articles
• Strategy
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Press kits
• Speeches
• Roadmaps
• Email copy
• Pitch decks
• Newsletters
• Social posts
• Case studies
• Career pages
• Website copy
• Presentations
• Elevator pitches
• Training programs
• Recruiting materials
• Mission, vision, and values
• Product descriptions and even pricing

Whether you’re building a startup or growing a company - you need to know how to formulate and articulate your ideas.

You need to create and talk about your strong vision and clear point-of-view.

This is what we cover in our newsletter.

Ready to tell your story? Let us help you do that. Free-of-charge.

My prediction

In 2026 we will see even more examples of successful stories creating success stories.

Founders that say the right words and paint the right pictures will get more investment rounds, more views, more revenue.

We will see more growth engineers and experts in virality, because the demand is huge. And it will only grow higher.

More launches from both old and new startups.

More crazy ideas and projects.

More founders in the game.

We live in legendary times.